Dismissal Guidelines

Students who become ill during the school day will be assessed by the school nurse and receive appropriate care and supervision in the nurse’s office. The school nurse will dismiss the student only after a parent or other responsible adult listed on the Emergency Information Card has been contacted.

In accordance with Maine Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, a child should not attend school or should be dismissed if he or she has one or more of the following symptoms or infections:

Fever: fever is defined as having an oral temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher.

Diarrhea: frequent passage of watery, loose bowel movements.

Vomiting: more than one time in the last 12-24 hours.

Nasal Discharge: green or yellow mucous accompanied by a fever.

Severe coughing: persistent coughing causing child to not be able to concentrate on work.

Sore Throat: if accompanied by a fever or if child is unable to eat or swallow.

Ear ache: if accompanied by a fever or if child is in moderate to severe pain.

Possible conjunctivitis: red eye with mucous drainage. If conjunctivitis is confirmed students need to be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.

Rash: unexplained rash with fever or if rash is open and draining. Child can return to school once a physician has determined the illness is not contagious and fever is gone.

Strept Throat: need to be fever free and on antibiotics for 24 hours.

Impetigo: needs to be on antibiotics for 24 hours, if not on antibiotics lesions should be dry and not draining.

Head lice: dismiss only if child has a severe case and is a great risk for spreading or is uncomfortable from itching.

Children with the above symptoms or illnesses cannot comfortably participate in school work and unnecessarily expose others to their illness. Students should be fever-free without the aid of fever-reducing medication, such as Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen for 24 hours before returning to school.